Full Transcript

Sari 0:04
I'm Sari Kimbell and I've done just about everything in the food industry. I have helped hundreds of packaged food business entrepreneurs and now I want to help you make your delicious dream a reality. Whether you want to be successful at farmers markets, online, or wholesale on the store shelves, Food Business Success is your secret ingredient. I will show you how to avoid an expensive hobby and instead run a profitable food business. Now let's jump in!

Sari 0:39
Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. As I mentioned last week, I'm bringing you kind of back to back episodes with guest interviews all about marketing content and how to create better content, how to do it more efficiently, and what are the things that you can do less of but do better to really get results. Before I jump into my interview with Emily, I do want to read a quick review left on the podcast. And I would love it if you would take a moment and go into Apple Podcasts and scroll down and leave a review. I would love to read it here on the podcast. Christopher of Vuku Bars writes "Wise insights into creating a CPG company with a fantastic personality." Thanks, Christopher. "Easy to listen to. Learning is super easy with this podcast. Thank you, Food Business Success." Thank you so much. I really appreciate it and I would love if you would leave a review. Social proof is always so important when you're starting a business and that goes for you too, right? You're going to need reviews at some point. My motto is always to really practice generosity, give before you get. And just get in the practice of leaving reviews for things you love, products you love, podcasts you love. I really think it'll generate more of that in your life for people are going to leave you reviews easily as well.

Sari 2:06
All right, let's jump into my interview with Emily. I am excited to have a great guest on, we're going to be talking about content for social media, which is so important. It's a question that comes up a lot for many of you. How do you get better at content? So I am excited to welcome Emily Teater and she is the founder of Set Creative. Set Creative is a content and food photography studio based where I'm at in Boulder, Colorado. She and her team have worked with many brands across the country to create drool worthy food content. They help growing food brands manage the intimidating world of social media content and just recently open their new studio in Boulder. So welcome Emily, I'm so glad you're here today.

Emily 2:57
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so glad to be here to help shed some light on this scary and necessary subject.

Sari 3:05
Very, very much. Yes, people are very, can be very intimidated by social media and creating good content. And so yeah, I guess just tell us a little bit more about who you are, how you got to this point. And then we'll dig into more of what Set Creative does as well.

Emily 3:23
Yeah, so I have been in Boulder for about three years. And prior to that we were living in the Midwest, and I was doing food photography for editorial and restaurants and basically anybody that would hire me for work. Out here, I was introduced to a couple of the wonderful food networking groups that are at both in Denver and Boulder, and started to meet some wonderful food brands that had fantastic products, a lot of energy behind what they were doing. And you know, when I would go to look for them on Instagram, like I think most of us do when we're researching brands, we go website and social media, those are kind of hand in hand these days. I started to notice that there were a lot of brands that when we met them in person were fantastic and vibrant and excited and then their content on social wasn't as great. So I kind of saw this interesting, you know, area where I could kind of merge the two worlds of my skill set with food photography and the need for content on a regular basis for these brands together into one business. So we've been doing this for about three years now. And essentially what we do is create all types of visual digital content for social media, for brands to use on their websites, all the social media platforms, email marketing, basically anything digital. And then that has slowly merged itself into managing their social media because you can create great content but if you're not using it correctly, which is kind of the next step in the process then, you know, I just didn't want to see brands wasting their money on it. So we started offering social media management where we could take the content that we know kind of what we're angling towards when we're creating each piece. And then make sure that it's followed through and used correctly on social media. And it takes it off of their plate, which is wonderful. So that's Set Creative.

Sari 5:15
Yeah, I love that you create, you're like, okay. I mean, that's part of being an entrepreneurship is you're like, well, I'm providing the content. But wait, now we need to actually manage it and they're struggling in this area. So did you bring on additional staff then to help you with those pieces?

Emily 5:34
Yeah, we are a small but mighty team up here in Boulder. I have a partner who is the culinary director and she does all of the food recipe development, and keeps our kitchen running smoothly so I don't have to worry about that. And then we also have two social media managers on right now with us as well, and an assistant photographer so that I can step away from some of the work occasionally, but I'm still mostly the lead creative as far as that's concerned.

Sari 5:59
Nice. And then do you do photography and video as well? Is that for both those?

Emily 6:07
Yeah. So our social media content had to expand with the ever changing world of social media. So we do video content as well as photography and recipe development and stop motions and, and, and.

Sari 6:23
Yeah, following the trends, for sure. And I love it because, do you do both? I think some brands on themselves really nicely to the culinary piece, right? Like that you're creating recipes and you're actually making dishes and meals and then photography, you know, photographing them with their sauce for instance or their actual product versus just product photography like a bar or something like that, right? Where you're not really making other things with it. So do you do both of those?

Emily 7:00
We do, yeah, a lot of our clients have some component of recipe development along with, you know, just the the product and lifestyle. But like you said, bars, things like that, that are already kind of made and are, you know, grab and go or drinks. I mean, even sometimes drinks can have a recipe component to them as well. But most part, yeah, we try to incorporate some of that because we think that it's a fun and creative way to showcase your product in a different way instead of just one product photo or lifestyle photo after the other. It's nice to be able to have some value added content, like recipes that go along with it. So we might, for some clients, it's all we do; for some clients, we only do maybe one or two a month. But we like to have that element in there in some way, shape, or form, if possible.

Sari 7:46
Yeah, yeah. I love that. Which leads to like the first question around like, why do people need to have great content? What makes content great? So how would you answer that?

Emily 8:02
I love those questions. And, you know, one of the things that we base most of our work around here at Set Creative Studios is content with a purpose. So there are, you know, many different approaches to creating content. And we believe that content for content's sake is not the way to do it. I think every brand has something to offer and something to showcase to their consumers. And so we like to make sure that our content is focused around what is that. What can you provide to your consumers that betters their life, that gives them a laugh, that, you know, just add something small to their daily life? And we believe that in exchange for adding something to their daily life, they will come back and, you know, become part of your consumer base. So what makes great content is content with a purpose. Also, relevancy is incredibly, you know, important. Sticking true to your brand voice, sticking true to your message is incredibly, you know, is a big piece of that. Also things that are eye catching and engaging. You want them to be pretty but pretty sometimes isn't enough. So it's a balance between the two things for sure. Yeah, that's basically what we focus on when we're making content and what we feel is great content.

Sari 9:18
Yeah. And I'm curious actually if we even backed up because you know a lot of people listening are very very new to entrepreneurship, to social media. And a lot of people are like, I don't even have social media personally and now I have to know all of this! So how would you even define content? I'm just curious like if we really back it up and talk about what does content mean to you as in the social media realm?

Emily 9:47
Absolutely. Content are pieces and assets like photos, videos, graphics, all those small pieces, visual content that you're going to be able to put out into the world. Content can sometimes be defined as, you know, writing blogs or, you know, having different methods of telling your story out into the world. But here at Set Creative our focus is that visual content, anything that you would use to visually promote your brand.

Sari 10:18
Right. And what advice do you give people with just kind of those limited budgets, right? They're just starting up. I'm curious like what do you think are the most important pieces when you're just starting?

Emily 10:34
I think if we back it up all the way to the very beginning like you said, I don't even use social media, I don't even have my brand on there. Number one is signing up and getting your brand the correct naming. That's big. I always recommend to anyone who's considering it, like just go on there and sign up for the Instagram, the TikTok, the Twitter. You never know what you're gonna end up using and not all brands use every social media platform to definitely lends itself more to the visual ones versus the Twitter, but I know some brands that do wonderfully on Twitter. So first of all, sign up and get your handles. So you at least know that when you're ready to start posting, you have your name and nobody else can take it from you. And then from there, it's essentially just slow and steady, and consistency. So figure out what types of photos that you have, maybe you had a friend take some photos for you, maybe you've given your product out to your family and friends and you can ask them to hey, can you take a picture of yourself with it? Or you can you take a picture of you, have it on your counter or, you know, utilize that network that you have that's cheering you on and in your corner. And they say, how can we help? You say, can you take some pictures for me even if it's just with your iPhone? Or even just like some short clip videos that you can then turn into a reel or video is really helpful. So I'd say, start by utilizing the network that you have and then figure out what you can handle because for every different person, for every person that's different. So a regular posting schedule is important to figure out if you're going to post, you know, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And then you can start by building a calendar out. There are some fantastic websites that have a free service where you can plan out your calendar. I recommend, you know, an hour to two, maybe a week or more than that for an entire month. And then you know that you've got regular posts. You've got content that you didn't have to pay a bunch of money for. And you've got an online presence. And I think that those are some of the key pieces of starting out. And obviously, figuring out what platform you're going to use and sticking to just a couple to start. You don't have to do it all. It's kind of like the beginning stages. So as long as you have an online presence and you're starting to work towards, you know, finding your voice and telling your story, those are all great starting points.

Sari 12:48
Yeah, that's great. Yeah, I mean, typically, I'm sure you probably see most people start with Instagram, which then you can just post right on the Facebook. So you know, if somebody is like, where do I start? Those are kind of usually the two main ones. I also love, are you guys doing? I'm curious, how are you doing work on Pinterest? Are you starting to put up content there?

Emily 13:08
Yeah, that was actually brought to our attention last year by some articles that we saw floating around. So it's like the OG of social media. And it's like making a comeback in terms of advertising on there. And, you know, having a better reach, having a more specific reach, which is kind of cool. Definitely started to dip our toes into creating the content that some of our brands can use on there to run ads or just do some self promotion.

Sari 13:33
Yeah, because I definitely know, I've been talking with a couple brands I work with about, like, you know, especially that are more recipe based, right? Like, that's where women are at who are looking for recipes. I know, I'm there. So.

Emily 13:48
Thanks for that. I completely agree, it's definitely more of the recipe. We're working with a great brand. He has created this bag that you just add water to it. And it's a baking mix, I guess I should say, that you add water to and you drop it on a cookie sheets and little drops or you could make cookie shapes out of it and you bake it, and it's so easy. They're healthy cookies for kids. I'm like, you definitely need to be focusing on Pinterest a lot because that's great product. So you have to know your audience. Find a platform for you. But there is definitely space for everyone out there in this social media world.

Sari 14:26
Yeah and the other thing I would add to kind of the basics is like getting a Canva.com account, right? Signing up for the free account, putting in your colors, or knowing, you know, accessing your colors, and having your logos available so that you can create some of those, you know, a little bit more fun graphics as well. And just start playing around in there.

Emily 14:49
Absolutely. It's like graphic design for dummies, essentially. You don't have to really know much about what you're doing. It's very drag and drop, very approachable but you can then take some of those photos that maybe you've been given or your community is starting to create for you and add some moving font or add some moving copy over the top of it or combine a couple to create a video. So I definitely think that it's a great place to be able to elevate some of those pieces even if they aren't the prettiest or even take your pretty pieces and reuse them for something else. Take this photo, post it now, save it and maybe in like six more weeks, you can add some copy over the top of it and get more life out of those pieces as well.

Sari 15:32
Yeah, cuz you can. People like, I don't want to reuse it. It's like, no, you can totally reuse stuff. Just kind of repurpose it. Yeah, I love that. So then when we start getting brands start getting a little more traction, they're getting some sales, they have some money in their marketing budget. And if it's not, you know, I always say in the beginning, you got to wear all the hats, you got to be the bookkeeper, and the social media, the janitor, the maker, and all the things. But eventually, sooner than later, when we can take off one or two of those hats and hire out. It gives us more bandwidth to focus on what we're really good at as founders and entrepreneurs. So how do people best work with kind of small agencies like yourself? Like what would you recommend as people are looking for just working with, you know, helping to offload some of their social media pieces?

Emily 16:29
That's funny that wearing many hats is such an accurate description for what most founders have to do in a startup. All been there, we've all been there. And the hats start to stack up and even if you have two or three people that are working together, everybody just piles those hats on their head. And we take on more roles and we try to, you know, get length out of all of our relationships and all of our time but then at some point in time, you're 100% correct, those hats get a little bit heavy. And one of the heavier hats is definitely social media and creating content. After you've gained that foothold in, you know, on social media and you're posting regularly, every brand kind of comes to that point where they understand that like, we can't do this in house anymore. And that's essentially when a boutique agency like ourselves come in, where we can take on that workload for them. And they can take that hat off and hand it to us, like you so eloquently put. And, you know, we are very specific about the brands that we work with. And because we like to treat every brand like they are our only one. We want to make sure that they feel well taken care of. We like to call our relationships more like partnerships where we are a part of your brand just on the outside. So we work hand in hand on many of our projects and we really take on the interest in growing the business just as much as the founders do. So that's kind of when they come to us and why they come to us because of how strong our relationships are with our brands, and how much of a focus we get each and every company that we work with.

Sari 18:06
So yeah, how do people know when they're ready? I guess we talked about that a little bit that they know, I mean, I think they know it already when it's just like, I could be doing something else with my time but I'm spending all my time here.

Emily 18:21
It's a great, that's a great kind of like milestone where you're like, I've been doing this and I maxed out on what my capabilities are. And we now have a little bit more money in our budget where we can allocate towards marketing, which a lot of brands at first are just trying to get on shelves, which I completely understand. You're trying to get your foot in the door, I think that that is absolutely a great place to allocate your funds. But once those sales really kind of start to grow and you're finding that you're being pulled in social media, is one of those things where you're like, ah, it's so much effort, and I just, I need to be doing other things. It's a great cornerstone or a moment in a business where you kind of take a step back and you're like, what do I need to be focusing on? And social media is usually an easier one to handoff, you know, to an agency or to someone on the outside to be able to step in and take care of it. Because it become so specialized at a certain point where the content needs to be more relevant and you're realizing that you've come a long way from making sure that you have your handle. And now you understand how social media works. And you're realizing how much work actually goes into staying on top of the trends and, you know, all of those things. So that's when you go, I think it's time for someone who really knows what they're doing to step in and take this portion of it over. You know, you know. You know.

Sari 19:39
Yeah, I always love looking back. I always encourage people because I think that there's that compare and despair that happens with, you know, entrepreneurs as they're starting where they look at a brand and I even I'll take like an example of one of my clients like Better Than Provisions, like you could look at their social media now. They're still doing it themselves. But it's like, really great, like great stuff. And you could be like, I'm not there yet. But I always love like, scroll down to the beginning. Even like big brands, right? Like scroll down, keep going, and you're gonna see an evolvement there, right? You're gonna be like, oh, yeah, I can see where they were just starting out, just figuring it out. And that's okay. Like that's part of the process. So it's like, don't be afraid to just start wherever you're at and evolve. And that's the beauty of a grid and post is like, they go, they fall down, right.

Emily 20:40
The more they stack, the better they get. It's a natural evolution that so many of us have experienced as a food photographer myself. I look back at some of my old photos and I'm like, oh, and I thought that was fantastic. But you just get started and just keep going. And eventually, you'll reach that point where you're really excited and proud of your own feed even if you're not the one doing the content anymore, you still know that I grew this business, and I hired somebody to help with my marketing and now here we are. And that comparison is not good for any of us, you just have to focus in on what you want to do.

Sari 21:15
Run your own race wherever you're at. I would imagine, it would be important for a brand to come in and work when they're ready to work with a boutique agency. I mean, hopefully they already have this to start but kind of that brand identity and target customer and brand voice. All of that stuff really developed, is that helpful for you to know that?

Emily 21:37
Yeah, 100%. The biggest part, all those are key pieces. But a brand voice is really key. Knowing what your message is, how you want to speak to your consumers, give us a really, really great foundation for then creating the content. Because like I mentioned earlier, there has to be a purpose behind what you're doing. And I worked with a very large company recently that has gone through a lot of growing pains. And they're kind of back to square one because they didn't really ever develop that brand voice. So they had a budget behind them and just had a talk with them about coming back on for their social. And unfortunately, you know, unfortunately, I've just like I still need a voice because I can make photos, we can make the recipes, but if you don't have that voice behind it that, you know, purpose, you're missing out. And people, your consumer base isn't going to get what you want them to get, you know, from the content, and they're not going to come back because they're not getting that value at that exchange necessarily.

Sari 22:39
Yeah, it's not gonna resonate with your customer. The target customer is going to be a little mismatched and all over the place.

Emily 22:46
And about the target customer, sometimes one of the most interesting things about social media is looking into your insights. That's another thing that I would give to somebody just getting started doing their own social is, you know, Facebook and Instagram have fantastic platforms that share the insights of your business account. You can see what time to post, what day of the week to post, who is looking at them, or who's looking at your photos, where are they. And sometimes you might learn something about your demographic that you maybe didn't even realize, your age range might shift in one direction or the other. And you can start planning your content and your communication around that feedback that those platforms give you.

Sari 23:28
Yeah, great. Yeah, great insight there. And I'm curious, are you able to work with people kind of at different levels? It sounds like you can kind of do like, you know, different levels of work for people. Or I don't know what you call them, stages or?

Emily 23:46
Exactly, yeah. Essentially we work with companies on a retainer basis. So we usually will start with a trial month, just to make sure that everybody's happy with the working relationship that we deliver, what we've promised, and they deliver what they've promised. And every time I've done a trial month, we've signed on a new client. So then we usually go to a three or six month contract. And those contracts are built around, you know, ala carte, what do you need as a company because we price things at different price points, sometimes the video might be too expensive but they might want more graphics to be able to, again, just take that off of their plate, and then they can grow into having some higher paying pieces. So there really is no company too small or big for what we do because it's all scalable.

Sari 24:35
Yeah, great. And then as a founder owner, how much would I be expected to do if I was working with an agency as far as like, creating the verbal content I guess, like the copy or I mean, cuz you guys, you can't read our minds, right? I mean, if we're like, oh, we have a sale coming up or, you know what I mean, like how do you collaborate with people on the actual like, okay, great, I took a great photo but now we need text behind it too.

Emily 25:10
Yeah, so we typically work, I always tell my clients, whoever my point of contact is, they can be involved as much as little as they'd like. So we essentially for majority of our clients, come up with all of the concepts. We like to touch base at least once a month, if not sometimes more, and try to work one month in advance so we know what's coming down the pipeline for each company, whether it's, you know, a sale that's coming up, or a new product launch or, you know, in a new store that you want to announce something like that. So we try to stay one month ahead and touch base on a regular basis once we have that information. And of course, at that point in time, we've already got your brand voice and your message. So we know what we're building content around, we will then come up with a Google Sheet basically, that's a pitch deck for each month. So we have what type of piece of content it is, what we're envisioning it to look like because you need that verbal portion of it for me to be able to tell you what's going on in my head and what I see or what the recipe will look like and tastes like. And then we give a little bit of a description or where we're coming from. Like here is why I think this piece would be a good piece. Some are very self explanatory like a football, you know, snack spread for Super Bowl, that's a pretty self explanatory post. But there are some times where we dig a little bit deeper and then we explain behind what's going on. And then we have a place for whoever the point of contact is, whether it's the founder or the person in charge of marketing, to be able to make their notes and communicate. If need be, we'll touch base one more time before we shoot to iron out the details. But a lot of times, I will be able to pitch like an idea for a caption while I'm typing the idea for what the photo will look like. So sometimes we give you that idea. Sometimes there's somebody at the company or the brand that knows what they're going to be saying behind it. So it kind of changes. If we do your social, which was taking it a step further into our services, we create the content on a monthly or the content calendar on a monthly basis, and then give the feed or the calendar over to whoever's in charge to be able to go through and see everything that we've created for the month, see all the copy and make any changes before things go live. So it's a very back and forth collaborative relationship.

Sari 27:29
Yeah, that's great. Just good to get people. Yeah, some context of like, how much do they need to be involved. I know, I think I have a lot of brands that are like, yeah, I want to hand it off completely. And you're like, well, you still have to be involved like it's still your brand. And you can't, you know, can't just like go figure out my business for me, like, no, you have to be involved in it. But as far as I think the content, you know, the photos, and the graphics, and the videos are the heaviest lift by all means. Yeah.

Emily 28:02
Like once you see something, you know, majority of people in this industry are obviously creative to a certain extent because they've come up with a product, right? So usually, once you see what the photo or video looks like, finding a caption that speaks your brand voice isn't the challenging portion of it. Usually a little bit easier. Sometimes I pitch that idea with it. If I'm just like, this is too good I have to share this with you. And then I let people or let the brands, you know, run with it and do what they do.

Sari 28:29
Yeah, yeah, I love that. And you guys do Ad Management too then I'm assuming as part of what you do?

Emily 28:35
We do. Yeah. That's a step further so we base our tiered approach to how we do our social media management and that would fall under social media. Basically, the beginner level is boosted posts where we just go in there and we're already managing your content, you tell us what you want your budget to be and we plan ahead and boost posts that we think will do well and resonate with consumers. And then the next step would be creating a set of ads that run on a monthly basis depending on your demographic, and your budget, and all those things. And then we take that feedback at the end, or we take the insights and the analytics at the end of the month and bring it back to the table and go, here's what works, here's what didn't. And here's what we want to focus on for the next month based on what this information is telling us.

Sari 29:16
Yes, yeah. Which is basically every brand should be doing this on a micro level if they're doing it themselves like looking at, hey, let's look at what worked and what didn't.

Emily 29:26
Absolutely, I highly, highly recommend looking at those insights and that feedback because it's a great way to see like, oh, I could continue doing that. And you don't want to overplay, you know, whatever you found, but it might change the way that you approach the next time you take the photos or create your calendar or, you know, it just, it's really, really great feedback and it doesn't really cost anything extra if you're already doing your social, so I highly recommend that.

Sari 29:51
Yeah, awesome. Well, let's just shift gears a little bit and talk about social media trends and what you're seeing as we are well into 2022. What are you guys seeing out there that maybe people can kind of lean towards or get inspired by and then any like, tips or tricks that you can help us out with creating our own content?

Emily 30:17
Yeah, so in 2022, video. It is not going anywhere, it is here to stay. And, you know, Instagram used to call itself a photo sharing platform, and it is going to be going heavy on video this year as well as TikTok. They're a little bit different in the approach to how to do video on both of those platforms. TikTok is all about volume. And you know, the more you post, the more likely you are to hit something that's viral, or the more views you get because it's so fast paced. I think reels can be a little bit more, you know, a little bit, you can spend a little bit more time on designing them, it's a great place to showcase and spend a little bit more time and maybe not have to post as much but you should definitely be sharing reels at least a couple times a week, at minimum. So that's kind of the big one that we're focusing on with a lot of our brands is how do we create more video? And what type of video? What are you sharing? Are we going to be educating with, you know, where the brand came from? Or what the brand story is? Is it recipes that we're making? There are so many different options when it comes to creating video and it's intimidating for a lot of people. But just like posting on social, just get started and have fun. And if you had fun and you're trying to communicate something about your brand to your consumer, it will resonate with someone out there. And it's always worth it to be showing the algorithm like hey, I'm trying here. And when they tell you, when the people at the top tell you what they're going to be focusing on, it's better to just be a part of their game and play it because the algorithm absolutely loves to see it.

Sari 31:59
Yeah, stop fighting against it. I know I have so many clients that are like, but I don't want to do video and they just keep doing photos. And I'm like, your stuff isn't getting seen, like you're spending time creating graphics and photos but if it's not being seen, you're just like, what's the point.

Emily 32:16
And it doesn't have to be complex, it doesn't have to be super long, you just have to be doing it. And then the other couple of things that we're seeing are influencer marketing, it's here to stay. It's definitely not going anywhere. It's a growing part of the industry. We're starting to dial down and see what type of influencer marketing but shifting. And what I mean by that is, it's no longer having to spend, you know, thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars on someone with a huge following. These nano and micro influencers are becoming a huge part of the industry because there can be a little bit more particular about what brands they partner with. And because they have a smaller following. And by nano and micro I mean, you know, anywhere from 1 to 5000, or then 5 to 10,000. Anything above that gets a little bit bigger and a little bit more expensive. And for the brands that we're talking to here today, the nano and mac. It might be micro or macro. I'm losing that word right now. But it's one of the two. Those are definitely the influencers that brands can be focusing their energy on because it's not expensive. And you're actually reaching a higher number of consumers because they have a smaller, tight knit community that is going to actually listen to them versus 10 million followers where you might get a couple of people that pay attention. But at the same time, they're like, you're just telling me something. People don't want to be sold potentially.

Sari 33:41
It's a more authentic, yeah, connection. And it's speaking to a very small niche of people with those micro influencers for sure. Yeah.

Emily 33:50
Yeah, that's definitely a place where once you start to hit that, I'm here, I'm doing this, I know I need video, it's a great way to merge the two worlds because you can hire the influencers to create the video and then you can reuse that on your page. So there's a lot of different ways to approach, you know, combining those two worlds, but I definitely think that it's a good place to start in 2022. And then the last, you know, big trend that I wanted to mention today is hiring content creators. And it's not just a plug for me, I promise. Content creators grew massively through the pandemic, and they're becoming a huge part of how social media works. And you know, even to the to the extent of Instagram just released a new tool where you can essentially send money to your content creators, you know, people that have specialized groups and have a following while they're doing a live video, you can send $1, $5, $10. You can actually start to subscribe to their page. They just announced that yesterday where you can now have subscriptions and people that subscribe to a specific content creator. Only people who subscribe see some part of their content where the rest of the world sees the rest of it. So content creators are going to become and continue to remain a big part of the landscape of social media. So it's a good way to partner, a boutique agency like us as a certain part of it, but then also partnering with the content creators slash influencer. They're different. They're a little bit different. But they're, they kind of overlap to a certain extent.

Sari 35:25
Yeah, that's interesting cuz I'm like, okay, yeah you're a content creative studio. But then there's like, I don't there's my physical like. They're kind of an influencer but yeah, they're a content creator.

Emily 35:36
Yeah, content creator. Yeah, it gets a little bit confusing. And this is kind of where, you know, like I said, you learned your social media and you're starting, but you're starting to understand that there's so much more to it that you don't want to have as a founder, or as a, you know, as a marketing, you know, person who's got so many hats to wear. So that's kind of where we come in and specialize and can pay attention to these things because it is a lot to sort through. Influencers kind of starting to diverge a little bit, essentially. So there's the influencer, there's content creator.

Sari 36:07
Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I was gonna share like, I guess my, couple tips I was thinking of is, when you're just getting started is just go through and watch. I always like to set a timer because reels I can like, or TikTok like all sudden, like three hours go by, you're like, oh, my gosh, what happened. But like, set a timer for 20 minutes and, you know, watch, like just go through and start watching reels and see what sort of sparks your curiosity, what you like, save audio, save reels that are inspiring, save content that's inspiring because it'll help you create better content. And you know, if there was an audio that you really liked, it so much easier to just go and use that in reels. And just go and access your saved and you're like, there it is, okay, now I'm gonna do my own. So just make that part of your practice of learning what's going on and just saving things and just seeing what people are doing out there. Just go to your home like on Instagram or just go to TikTok and just start exploring. See what's out there, get inspired. And it'll also really help when you're ready to work with a content creator too that kind of get your vibe and things that you're liking. So that's definitely a big one. I think people don't realize they do need to spend some time just seeing what other people are doing. Not out of, oh, I'm not gonna be there or I'm not there yet. But just what's inspiring to you, what do you like.

Emily 37:48
Yeah, I think we're all, you know, like I'd mentioned, we're all creatives, we're all artists to a certain extent. And I don't think there's anything wrong with spending some time being inspired by other artists and creatives. So you never know what you might find on, you know, if you're looking at competitors, or even if you're looking at just a brand that you just happen to be inspired by. You never know what looking through their things and seeing what's trending and how they've evolved might spark and inspire within you. And also, yeah, the trending component is big, but also try to fall in love with it to a certain extent. A lot of people don't like social media. A lot of brands might be, you know, a little bit not wanting to have to do it. But it's not going anywhere. It's becoming a part of our marketing landscape and it's not going to change. So try to find a way to enjoy it to a certain extent, and video, and reels are a really fun way to explore and experience social in a fun and engaging way. And that's why those companies are going so big on video. So I agree, spend some time, do some research. Set a timer because I have gotten lost on TikTok way too many times. But yeah, it's a great, that's a great tip.

Sari 39:00
Yeah, so what, you know, when people are trying to create their own content, do you as a photographer, videographer, have any suggestions how people can make their, maybe just the content just a little bit bigger? A little bit better?

Emily 39:15
Yeah, I think um, you know, lighting is essentially what photography is. We are light, we paint with light. So, you know, if you're, if we take it all the way back and you're just getting started and you have your product and you don't have a friend with a camera, maybe you can find a friend of a friend that has a little bit of a nicer camera. iPhone cameras are really good these days but I recommend trying to get your hands on a DSLR, sometimes you can rent them from camera stores as well. Set up a table next to a bright window and you know, just kind of play around and have fun. So I always recommend a bright light. I even sometimes still record video in our studio using natural light because you just can't replicate it ultimately. So bright light. Keep it simple. It doesn't have to be overly complex, you don't have to overly prop your scene. You know, showcasing a small example of how to use your product, maybe it's a sauce, maybe it's a dip, maybe it's, you know, something along those lines, just set up that camera, press record and try it, you know, try pouring in a couple of times, stirring in a couple of times or, you know, something like that. You might find that you're actually going to create something that you really like. Worst case scenario, you realize how hard it is, and then you come find me which most people end up doing. Because it's a challenge but it's not impossible. And you shouldn't be intimidating. And I think everyone should at least give it a try. So good lighting, as good of a camera as you can get your hands on, and then just play, and have fun and just be creative with it.

Sari 40:45
Yeah. I always say like, bring your product everywhere you go not everywhere. But like if you're going out and it's a nice day, like, bring your product with you and get some shots by the fountain, you know, or like, I'm not even opposed to like, you're at a restaurant and you're getting brunch, bring your hot sauce and like, get a photo with your eggs.

Emily 41:11
I mean, you have to be your biggest champion, right? So you can't be afraid. I mean, as a photographer, starting out as a food photographer before restaurants or magazines would hire me, I took my camera everywhere that I went. Because I was both doing family photography and food photography. And I would sometimes get embarrassed in to take pictures of my food while we're sitting in a restaurant with my big DSLR. And I would ask my husband like do you mind? And he's like, do what you have to do like you have to make your own way, and you have to put yourself out there, and you have to practice your own skills. So do it anywhere. Don't be shy. We've all done it. We've all been there. So I think that that's another great piece of advice.

Sari 41:49
Yeah, yeah, I know I have something like, I'm so nervous. And it's like, this is part of I think just owning your product and be really proud of it. And like, just nobody cares. Server at the restaurant doesn't care.

Emily 42:03
Have no shame in your photo, okay.

Sari 42:05
In fact, the server in the restaurants gonna probably be like, oh, I want to try it.

Emily 42:11
Never know what could start when you put yourself out there. Like, definitely when it comes to, you know, self promotion.

Sari 42:20
I love it. So tell everybody where they can find you. And yeah, definitely, if you reach out to Emily, let them know you've heard us on this podcast but tell people where they can find you.

Emily 42:33
Absolutely. So on Instagram, that's the best place to find us. We are at Set Creative Studios. My personal photography page is just at Emily Teater. And you can also find us at setcreativestudios.com.

Sari 42:46
Great. And so I'm assuming you have an application process or way people can get in touch with you if they're interested in your services.

Emily 42:53
Yeah, I've gained clients through, you know, everything from a networking meeting, to an Instagram message, to filling out the form on our website. So don't be shy, reach out, ask questions. I really, really love. We all really love to support growing brands. So even if you're not ready to work with us yet, we are always happy to start the conversation, to learn more, to give advice and guidance. We believe that there is enough room for everyone in this industry. And I'm not shy to share whatever piece of information I can and help all of these wonderful businesses grow. So please reach out.

Sari 43:25
I love it. Well, thank you for being so generous with your time today. And being generous in the industry. We really are glad that you're are here and you're safe. I know we were talking about the fires earlier. So glad that you're safe. And you'll be moving back into your home soon. So.

Emily 43:42
I'm so glad to be here. I appreciate you reaching out and having me on today. And I can't wait to see all of the wonderful brands that you work with and what comes from this.

Sari 43:51
Yeah, amazing. All right. Have a great day. Thanks, Emily.

Emily 43:55
Thank you so much. I'll talk to you soon.

Sari 43:58
Wow, that was awesome. There were some real gems in there. And I hope that was really helpful these last two episodes. Definitely reach out to Emily. If you're interested let her know that you heard about her on Food Business Success. She is just a pro and and really a great asset for us in the CPG industry. So until next time, have an amazing week!

Sari 44:31
Are you ready to start that delicious idea that you make in your home kitchen or grow your existing packaged food business and take it to the next level? The most successful food business entrepreneurs have support, guidance, focus, and accountability to help them make it happen quickly without wasting time or money. Plus I think starting your packaged food business should actually be fun. Food Business Success is your secret ingredient to creating your food business dream. Please don't go this alone. Check out the private free Food Business Success Facebook Group to connect with other foodpreneurs. Get your questions answered quickly. Share your wins and receive special training and tools I only share inside the private community. Just search for Food Business Success on Facebook, or get the link in the show notes. Curious about how Food Business Success can help you? Head over to foodbizsuccess.com and fill out the application to see if you're a great fit for the program. Together let's make your food business dream a reality.